I Tried: Charlie's Supernatural Experience
by JaelSarjenka
Summary: Complement to I Tried: I looked to my daughters for reassurances, but they had none. Leah was compelled to tell me the most unbelievable story. Death was coming. What could I, a mere mortal, do to intervene? I had to try. One-shot.


_**A/N: I promised this some time ago, but I was met with some obstacles. I've been working on several stories simultaneously as creativity ebbs and flows, also. I hope you enjoy. If you haven't read I Tried, this is a companion to it and may make more sense since my own characters are mentioned.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any flare guns. Stephenie Meyer owns the former and the Winchesters' of Supernatural inspired the use of the latter. I don't own them either, such a shame!**_

I Tried: Charlie's Supernatural Experience

Charlie's POV

I was watching Sue as she was taking care of everyone at our house. She was having a fairly good time making sure everyone was fed (there were those who pretended to eat, but I didn't say anything. I'm trained to notice things. Less observant people wouldn't have caught on, but I had an eye for it. I just kept to myself about it all. I knew they had their secrets to keep). We had decided to buy a bigger house at the end of the year so all our family and friends could come and enjoy her hospitality. We hadn't told our kids about it yet. We were waiting until Sue was ready to tell them. She wanted to wait until Christmas.

The kids seemed tense. Their friends seemed strained. I thought that Sue might know more, because she was hiding her stress. I've known her for most of my life. Our families all fished together back in the day. After she and Harry married, I would fish with them. I've seen her hide stress and she was doing it now, I was certain of it. She was forgetting things she normally didn't which was uncharacteristic of her. She was sharp as a tack. Also, she was snipping at Seth, which she never does. He was sensitive to her state and didn't retaliate.

I knew there was a strange "need to know" issue going on, but this level of pressure could break anybody, even though these guys appeared to be as tough as nails. They never demonstrated strength to me, but I just figured on it. The Quilieutes were huge after all. And whatever Bella's kind was, well, her hugs have seemed much more firm than I ever recall her giving before. They were strong, though. I knew it.

I figured that with these secretive types, they know what to say and when to keep their mouths shut. They didn't seem to be trouble, so I assumed that anything bothering them was nefarious. They seemed on alert, like a squad about to do a bust.

Everyone was looking full (those that ate, anyway). Annie and Nessie (don't tell Bella I said that) were having this tiny side conversation. Most people seeing two little girls talking would assume they were playing house or something, but these two aren't like any two kids ever to walk the planet. They looked like a three year old and a five year old (to me), but they talked to each other like grown women. They were much smarter than me, I'm sure.

Seriously, the last time they had been here they were discussing splitting atoms with a particle accelerator that they were going to try to sugar talk someone into buying for them. Apparently some dude named Fermi was an answer to all the problems in Italy. I wasn't even aware there was a political crisis in Italy.

This time they were talking about the problem in or from Italy and were trying to find a solution. I pretended I couldn't hear, like a good grandpa would.

It was growing close to time for everyone to leave. Sue was taking a longer time than usual to say her good-byes to Seth and Leah. I thought Bella was going to cry as she hugged me. Edward was giving me this solemn look as he wished me well.

It was like a last farewell.

I looked at Bella and Leah and asked them for assurance, "Is everything going to be alright?" because, honestly, it didn't feel like it was.

Leah opened her mouth and closed it and opened it again and then she spilled forth the most amazing tale I could have ever heard. The entire time she was talking, Annie was staring at her with this very intense look on her face. I believed that she was causing her mother to tell everything. Everything that I wasn't supposed to know is what she said. Things I didn't want to know she told me. The "need to know" status had changed to cover everything. Annie decided I needed to know.

Things were not O.K. in supernatural land. Things were very, very, very, wrong, in fact. Hugely- incompatitable-with-my-outlook-in-life-things were happening. First, my daughter was a vampire. (Should I have stopped breathing at that?) Second, so were the Cullens and Leah's husband, William. My two sons-in-law were vampires. My two granddaughters were miraculous half-vampire beings and there were a few more like them in other parts of the world. There was some kind of ruling vampire family that was coming to kill, yes, kill, my sweet grand babies and my two daughters (yes, Leah was as much my daughter as Bella and I thought her father would be relieved to know I cared for her in that way) and their husbands, plus all the Quilieutes who can change into wolves or who may in the future, so my Seth, too. All because the wolves protected my Bella from a vampire name Laurent who tried to kill her in the woods a few years ago. Apparently he was the mate of another vampire who has formally complained about the issue to this ruling family in Italy. Now the reason I couldn't go to the big house was because there were many vampires assembled there to side with my family (they were all my family now). It wasn't safe for me there because most of the visitors were different from Bella and the Cullens who only drink from animals. These others drink from and kill people (it's all disgusting, don't sugar coat it for me).

There was no way to avoid a confrontation with these people. They had ways of finding people if they hid. It would be better if they faced them head on with their defenses together. Complete and utter annihilation was an absolute possibility.

All this information left me staggered. My brain couldn't comprehend it. How could this possibly be?

I looked over to Sue. She believed it all. Every last word. She had already known. Her dark eyes had lost the strengths hey contained minutes ago. Having had heard the words spew forth in such a manner had stripped whatever she was clinging to. I started to move toward her, but lost my footing and nearly fell. The weight of the words that were spoken had weakened me. Edward caught me and helped me over to the couch and William escorted Sue to me. We sat together with tears streaming down our faces, holding hands. Bella, Leah, and Seth sat at our feet watching us with care.

Edward's phone rang and he seemed to be speaking but I couldn't hear. It was like he was speed speaking. Now that I knew, he wasn't hiding or pretending around me anymore. He looked gravely at the group.

"That was Alice. She says we need to be making our way to the field. Sam has sent his pack ahead to set up tents for the girls to sleep in. Time is running short. We have to go." He said this to them and then to me, "Charlie, we wanted to keep you safe from knowing this. We're sorry if we've hurt you in anyway. We love you and have only meant the best for you."

With that they all left together. Tomorrow they would be facing a fierce army. Sue and I clung to each other and cried for a few minutes more.

I was feeling lost and overwhelmed. I knew that something had changed in Bella to save her from death, but I didn't suspect that she was a vampire. She and the Cullens didn't fit the myths that are told. Besides, vampires and werewolves weren't supposed to exist.

However, I finally understood why she read vampire novels after Edward had left. It was the only way to talk about the vampire world without her actually talking about it with me. Bella had figured out how to discuss the secret world she wasn't supposed to share. She was a clever one.

How could I lose her to evil vampires tomorrow?

I looked over at my wife. All our children and grandchildren were targeted for death. I had known she was worried for them, but I had no clue it was like this.

"Is there anything we can do?" I asked her. Our hopelessness hung in the room almost tangibly. She sat still and closed her eyes as she held my hand. I thought she might be praying.

"Would you like to drink some tea?" Sue surprised me by asking. I was thinking that the stress was getting to her. I thought I might should agree in case busying herself would help her. I would do anything to help, so I said that I would.

Sue was in the kitchen humming a Quiliuete tune I had heard her hum before as she worked heating water on the stove. She returned to my arms as it heated and repeated her trip to turn down the heat to let it steep. When it was ready she brought a cup to me. I was still mulling over the information that had been given to me. I started to drink it and noticed it was different than tea I usually had, it was made with loose leaves.

As I finished the cup, she took it from me and stared intently at the remnants at the bottom. I didn't even gasp at the realization that she was reading them. Where was the supernatural line drawn? I couldn't tell. I had known these people all my life. How had I missed how unique they were. I waited patiently for her to say something.

"We need to go to La Push. I'm calling a meeting of the elders. We need to be in the village anyway so we can keep an ear out for what is happening."

So we left for the reservation in my car. I couldn't keep my mind on the road, but we made it there safely in spite of that. It seemed that we were expected. Something that Leah hadn't told me in her deluge of information was that the wolves could read each others' minds if they were part of the same pack. Sue educated me on that. Two barely teens flanking Old Quil and Billy had apprised them of what had happened at my house. They had met us, wanting to see how I had taken the news.

We all went into Sam and Emily's place together. There were a few others there, some I didn't recognize. The house was a bit bigger than Billy's house, but it was filled with people. Emily had been baking so,the smell of blueberry muffins were in the air. Cooking is a great stress reliever for some people. It complements others' need to stress eat, I guessed.

Sue informed them that she had read my tea leaves. We were all curious as to what she came up with. She broke the suspense, "The answer lies in his gut response. We must work together, but he will have the idea we are to follow."

I asked about how indestructible the enemies were. I wondered about their strengths and weaknesses. They told me that only something as equally indestructible could match them, rip them apart, and then burn them. They seemed to be rather flammable. I asked if they had to be dismembered before burning. Everyone looked at each other uncertainly. One suggested that possibly if a flame were to come at a vampire that it could burn them, but that was improbable because the vampires could move so quickly they could probably dodge it.

A plan was forming in my mind: distraction plus flame. It would have to be precise. I also needed to know what other magic was hiding on the reservation. But how to ask without coming off offensive? I decided I needed to be direct.

I cleared my throat to get their attention, "What are our strengths? Do we have any hidden assets?"

The elders looked at each other. It was old Quil who answered, "Our histories are long. We have passed many stories from generation to generation. Our greatest strengthis our protectors, the wolves. We are all descendants of the spirit warriors, but they are from the line that took a separate physical form. There are those who still practice the art of the spirit warrior, though they have lost many abilities they once possessed. There are some who practice other magical arts. Sue has shown you how she reads tea leaves. There are others who have been gifted as well."

"Is there anything that can help us in this situation, now?" I pressed. I was feeling the stress of the situation. So many lives were on the line.

"Perhaps you should give us your ideas and we can see of we can match with some of our own." Old Quil suggested.

"We know their strengths. They are super strong, fast, and there are few things that can destroy them. But they are exceptionally flamable. That is the weakness that sticks in my mind. If there was a way to, I don't know shoot the leaders with, say, a flare gun," should I tell them I'm going with 'What would the Winchesters do?' Probably not.

"You would have to have an element of surprise. They would see that coming." Emily pointed out.

Old Quil didn't have any magical gift matchings to what I was suggesting. It was my gut instinct. It was a very strong idea in my head that just wouldn't let go.

We continued to mull over the situation until Emily insisted we sleep. She had some large cots unfolded across the living area and down the hall and we men each took one. The ladies camped out in the bedroom. We slept restlessly until morning.

Sue and I helped Emily make breakfast for everyone. Her kitchen was where all those boys ate and it was prepared for a good-sized group. We being smaller than the boys fit even more easily around the tables.

We returned to our conversation about how to aide in the fight. The boys were exasperated thinking there might be something more they could do that they just weren't considering. Brady huffed loudly in annoyance at the fact he was left on elder care duty.

At that moment there was a rap on the door. Colin opened the door. It was golden eyed tall brunette woman that I hadn't seen anywhere before, but I knew she was like the Cullens. The boys looked confused. She wasn't supposed to be on their land and they didn't notice her approach.

"I can see you are too befuddled to invite me in, so I'll just step in. I have been sent here by someone who sees the future. My name is Margery." She immediately started to explain her presence, but Colin interupted asking, "Do you mean Alice Cullen?"

"No, my friend Heahmund is a seer of old who stays out of the way, normally. That he has asked me to do this speaks volumes of the importance of what I am to do. The Volturi have betrayed our trust in them to govern over us fairly." She answered.

"And what is that important thing he told you to do?" I inquired.

She replied, "To accompany you and these two wolves into the midst of the war that is about to take place." We looked at her curiously as she continued, "Your presence and actions are key, according to Heahmund." Tea leaves and a vampire seer are pointing to me, a mere mortal human.

" Why should we believe you?"asked Brady.

She looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Your daughter and granddaughters will die today if you don't do what you were thinking of." She knew about Nessie and Annie, then.

"How do you know what he is thinking? Is your gift to read minds?" Brady was still uncertain from his tone.

"No, I am a physical shield. They won't be able to see, smell or hear us until it's too late." She smiled. "I'm just guessing what he is thinking by the outcome that Heahmund saw."

All around the room heads were nodding and relief was growing.

"But you must never tell about me. Make it sound like there is more magic here in the village that has been kept secret for ages. They will never see me. I will be gone before any others know I was there. I will stay long enough to know I am no longer needed." She plead with us to keep her secret. I understood that power hungry coveted those with gifts. We would keep her secret. We promised.

We left with flare guns strapped to me. I climbed up to ride on Brady like a horse, since he was as big as one. He seemed quite pleased to get to be the one to carry me, so I wasn't worried that it might be offensive to him. Margery cloaked our scent but wouldn't make us invisible until we were closer, because it took too much concentration to cover more than herself for very long.

It wasn't long trip for the swift wolves and vampire. She was soon cloaking us from sight and sound as well. She asked Brady and Colin to stand majestically behind a snow fort (we were curious who made it) to make it seem that we magically appeared. She would remain hidden in the treeline.

At just the right time she lifted her shield from us. She said it would add to the distractions and make our plan successful.

I was terrified, but as soon as we were noticed, I shot two flares at two figures on the other side. I already had them in my sights and knew what to do. I listened to my gut feeling on this. It proved to be an accurate resource as the two arguing figures flamed uncontrollably and purple smoke issued from under their clothes. I breathed in relief knowing my job was done. I was to stay with these two wolves until they would take me back to Sue.

But then I saw these two men grab my girls and I wanted to run after them. I couldn't use my flares with Isabella so close to them. My little girl had the same weakness as those wicked ones that took off with her. I prayed that help would come and my family would be safe. But would they really ever be safe? They were powerful and gifted. Evil covets such things to advance itself. If only it could be more simple. I guess simplicity was gone before the gates were even opened.

Around us there were some small skirmishes that I couldn't see, because they happened so fast. I was hoping the Cullen side was fine. I didn't know who was with whom. Soon it was over and I looked the direction those two had taken my girls and out came three strangers followed by my missing ones. My heart swelled with joy and extreme relief.

Bella, Renesmee, and Annie made their way to Edward, Leah, and William who gave them huge hugs of relief. She seemed to be telling them what happened. They talked to the strangers. It seemed that they saved my girls and I owed them my gratitude.

There was celebrating going on all around us as it became obvious that it was all over and they were all safe and free. Bella made her way over to me and the boys with a stern look on her face. She wanted to know what I was thinking to come in so dangerously. I lifted my eyebrow in her direction. She couldn't blush any more, but if she could have, I think she would have as she realized the hypocracy of her statement.

I gave her a vague explanation and praised my gut. She looked at me knowing there was more to the story. I felt bad that I could never share it, but I was becoming accustomed to carrying others' secrets. I promised to tell her more, but I would have to hide the facts.

Soon the boys took me home. I found Sue sitting and holding hands with Emily. She smiled at my return. They decided a run to the grocery store would now be in order since there would likely be a celebratory bonfire tonight on the beach.

I attended the beach and told my modified version of the story. They thought I was a hero. I wasn't anymore a hero than anyone else that showed up that day. I was there, followed my gut, and gave my best. I suppose in the end what makes a hero is to put forth effort. I suppose I was a hero, because though I was afraid of what might happen, I tried.

 _ **A/n: I know Margery's gift was very similar to Fred's. It was stronger though. She had no fluctuations at all. Bella never caught onto what was going on. Also, though Charlie doesn't know it, by demanding they each keep the secret, she placed a block in each mind so that neither the wolves will share in mental communication nor will Edward be able to read the truth in any of their minds.**_

 _ **I imagine Margery and Heahmund are from the 1500's or so. They have been hidden somewhere in North America since the explorations. I have an idea for a story about them sometime if it ever gets developed.**_

 _ **Take care, my friends, and thank you for taking your time to read.**_

 _ **JaelSarjenka**_


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